From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishperipheralpe‧riph‧e‧ral1 /pəˈrɪfərəl/ ●○○ adjective 1 UNIMPORTANT formal not as important as other things or people in a particular activity, idea, or situation a diplomat who had a peripheral role in the negotiations Her involvement in the case was peripheral.peripheral to The romance is peripheral to the main plot of the movie.2 OUT/OUTSIDE formal in the outer area of something, or relating to this area the city’s peripheral suburbs the peripheral nervous system3 → peripheral vision4 TD technical peripheral equipment can be connected to a computer and used with it —peripherally adverb
Examples from the Corpus
peripheral• It is a society in which women's rights and concerns are still treated as peripheral.• But Mrs Clinton has said they prove that her involvement was peripheral.• Stan plays a peripheral character in the series.• Although a definition of central information was attempted, no clear description of the types of peripheral information available was previously offered.• But those were the peripheral ingredients to the Bruins' second nonconference home loss in the past 46 games.• During the recession some larger companies recognised a need to dispose of peripheral interests and apply the proceeds to their core businesses.• So the first step in treating peripheral neuropathy is maintenance of tight control of blood glucose levels.• Too much money is being spent on peripheral programs when our kids can't read or do basic math.• The U.S. State Department had only a peripheral role in the negotiations.• The romance was peripheral to the movie's main plot.• Why, some might question, is there such an emphasis on something which is so peripheral to the New Testament?peripheral to• activities that are peripheral to the organization's educational goalsperipheralperipheral2 noun [countable] technical TDa piece of equipment that is connected to a computer and used with it, for example a printerExamples from the Corpus
peripheral• The two pieces of add-on hardware, called peripherals, are pricey.• Destiny provides imaging controller software and hardware technology for printers and desktop peripherals.• Soon preschoolers will get their shot using new peripherals and software developed jointly by Compaq Computer Corp. and Fisher-Price.• The seven Super Compstation 10 models are each offered with a range of options for storage, monitors and other peripherals.• But harmonization will now concentrate on the essentials - the peripherals will be left to a process of mutual recognition by states.• These peripherals also come with their own software, so the accompanying bundle is better than most.• There are also various peripherals at competitive prices too.From Longman Business Dictionaryperipheralpe‧riph‧e‧ral /pəˈrɪfərəl/ adjective1peripheral activity/ business etcCOMMERCE an activity, business etc that is not the most important one that a company is involved inThe firm is neglecting profitable core businesses to develop peripheral activities.2peripheral equipment/productCOMPUTING equipment that is connected to a computer and used with itThe company focused on supplying peripheral products such as printers. —peripheral noun [countable]a maker of computer peripherals, particularly disk drives 